Data Transfer Error
by Zeiskyte
Summary: After defeating Bohman, everybody's consciousnesses are restored and VRAINS is temporarily shut down. Of course, nothing ever goes as planned and it seems the entire universe has pulled a prank on two certain duelists. Until they find a solution, Kogami Ryoken adjusts to green-rimmed glasses and Homura Takeru runs a finger over the red mark of the Knights of Hanoi on his hand.
1. Wheel of Fortune

_A/N: This is a Ryoken and Takeru bodyswap fic. Let me know if I should continue this. Hope you all enjoy!_

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As far as Ryoken was concerned, everything should have returned to normal after Playmaker beat Bohman. Mirror Link VRAINS had fizzled out of existence and consciousness data flew out of Bohman as he collapsed, restoring the minds of the duelists within VRAINS.

He awoke in what must have been a closet, body uncomfortably pressed against one of the walls with his legs crumpled beneath him. His vision was bleary and there was a pang of hunger in his stomach, and he could only wonder how long he had been in VRAINS. Realistically, it couldn't have been longer than a day, but there was something off and he couldn't put his finger on it.

Ryoken stood, legs unsteady. He pushed his arm against the wall for support and reached forward, causing the door to open in front of him. The room outside widened before him and he was sure that one of the hallways in his house had to be wider than wherever he was. There were a multitude of screens covering the wall to the left, images of Link VRAINS and the last bunch of duelists logging out flashing across their display. The rest of the walls were closed in.

On the floor in front of him lay Kusanagi Shoichi, and in the chairs by the screens were Aso and Genome. By the looks of it, the three men were just regaining consciousness.

Ryoken's confusion clung to him like smoke. He had instructed Aso and Genome to find Kusanagi and to continue their operation in the Cafe Nagi food truck. It was obvious that they were in the truck. But why was Ryoken here? He had been on the boat with Spectre and Kyoko.

"What-" The word caught in his throat. That wasn't his voice.

Kusanagi squinted at him, as if fighting his own bleary vision, but his expression softened. "Takeru," he breathed. "You're okay."

Ryoken blinked, suddenly becoming hyperaware of the green-rimmed glasses in front of his eyes. Taking a look at himself, he was wearing the Den City High school uniform. Turning his hands over experimentally, he noticed the lack of the Hanoi's mark on his hand.

He took in a deep breath. He was in the body of Homura Takeru. There must have been an error in the network when everybody's consciousness was restored. Somehow his consciousness had been implanted into the wrong body.

He had to be calm and think this through. He would just have to play this off and take the guise of the fire duelist until he figured out how to fix this.

"Yeah, all thanks to Yu-Yusaku." He had never called Playmaker by his actual name, and the slip was noticeable. So much for a flawless impression. "... Are you alright?"

Kusanagi stared up at the ceiling, eyes clouded. "I'm fine. It's Jin and Yusaku I'm worried about."

Ryoken allowed himself to slouch, relieving the tension in his shoulders. Perfect posture was a _Ryoken_ characteristic, so he could give himself the break for the time being. However, the conviction in his - Takeru's - voice was just as clear. "Where are they?"

Ryoken couldn't explain it. He constantly declared that he regretted saving the children during the Lost Incident. He felt guilty for what happened to his father, not about the children. He had kept up with the children to protect them from the Ignis and nothing else... But there was a sinking feeling in his chest at the mention of Jin and Yusaku.

Kusanagi pushed himself onto his elbows, eyes moving to the blue closet-like room next to Ryoken. "Yusaku is in there," it was spoken plainly, because that was something Takeru should have known. Ryoken kept his face neutral.

"Jin is still at the convalescent home - I need to check on him!" Kusanagi all but jumped to his feet, staggering in a bout of vertigo. He balanced himself using one of the chairs and took notice of the Knights for the first time since regaining consciousness. "W-Why are you two here?"

Genome smiled a trademark grin. "Revolver-sama's orders."

Ryoken couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips. He was grateful for his Knights, and he probably didn't praise them enough. However, he was Homura Takeru for the time being, so he would have to wait to express his gratitude.

Aso spoke up. "You're in no condition to drive. I'll drive us there."

Kusanagi's eyes widened slightly, suspicion creeping into his gaze. He still didn't trust the Hanoi. "Why are you even here again?"

The green-haired scientist spun around in his seat, facing Kusanagi. "I told you: Revolver-sama's orders."

Ryoken noted the small bit of frustration wrinkling Kusanagi's face. It was obvious he was not happy with the Knights of Hanoi being in his truck, but he would probably oblige to Aso's offer. Watching over Kusanagi had been a part of Ryoken's request, after all.

"... Fine," Kusanagi agreed, and Ryoken's hunch had been right. "Just don't screw with any of my equipment."

Aso and Genome made their way to the front of the truck and Ryoken could hear the start-up of the engine. That left him and Kusanagi by themselves.

Ryoken guessed that Takeru was one for small talk. "Do they even know where they're going?"

Ryoken knew the answer to his own question (which was _yes_, because he had been the one to investigate into Jin's whereabouts) but felt the need to fill the silence if he wanted to pass for Takeru.

Kusanagi let out a heavy sigh, and Ryoken could tell that the man was tired beyond belief. "They've probably had trackers on the truck for some time and pinned the different places I go."

Ryoken hid his surprise well because Kusanagi was absolutely right. He had Spectre place trackers on the outside of the hotdog truck a little after the first incident with Bohman and Haru. Of course, he had done his own research and hacking, but the trackers had also helped.

"I wouldn't doubt it," he said, folding his hands together in his lap. He had a vague recollection of Takeru not being technologically savvy in the least bit. "But you know that isn't my expertise and I'm the wrong person for this kind of talk." He added a laugh at the end, hoping to play this off as a lack of knowledge to lighten up the mood.

A smile tugged at Kusanagi's lips, so Ryoken would say his plan worked. The older man gave a nod before glancing back to the blue closet-room beside the one meant for Takeru. "I'm surprised Yusaku didn't pick up on it, he's usually good about that."

Ryoken spoke with a sense of knowing. "That's your kind of thing, too, isn't it?"

Kusanagi chuckled lightly. "I've had to worry about taking care of Jin, you and Yusaku, and also run the truck." He smiled despite the heavy list of responsibilities on his shoulders. "I've had my hands full with you guys."

For the first time since waking up, Ryoken allowed his own personality to come out. "With Lightning and Bohman taken care of, we should have some peace until the next enemy comes along."

Ryoken had his suspicions about SOL Tech, but he would keep that to himself for the time being. The Light Ignis and Bohman were taken care of. He would allow Kusanagi this break after everything that had happened; once the conflict began with SOL, there would be no peace. Might as well enjoy it while it lasted.

Footsteps pattered from the driver's seat and Aso poked his head into the backroom. "We're here."

Kusanagi glanced from Ryoken to Aso. After a moment, he gave a bow. "Thank you."

The man left the truck and all but ran towards the entrance of the building. Ryoken was glad that he trusted the Knights enough to leave them with his truck. Or maybe he didn't trust them but needed to see his brother as soon as possible. It was probably the second option.

Aso returned to the driver's seat, leaving Ryoken alone. It was tempting to reveal his identity to his comrades, but he knew that they had enough stress as is. He was their leader, he could figure this out and solve the issue himself. The real issue would be Takeru in his own body.

"Of all the people..." He muttered to himself, pressing his fingers to his temples. Takeru, the hot-headed bastard he was, would probably get into a fight with Spectre or destroy one of the Hanoi programs. Or just flat out reveal his identity and foil any plan that Ryoken could have come up with.

Ryoken startled when the blue door slid open. Yusaku staggered out, looking extremely exhausted and ready to fall over at any moment.

Yusaku's green eyes widened, light reflecting off them. "Takeru, you're alright."

Ryoken blinked a few times too many before responding. "Y-yeah. I was more worried about you, though."

Yusaku's Duel Disk lit up and Ai's voice carried through the air. "Takeru!"

Ryoken forced a smile. This was wrong. This wasn't his life. He shouldn't be the one hearing this. Swallowing past his guilt, he spoke. "From the looks of it, you beat Bohman."

Ai's form rose up from the Duel Disk and he leaned forward, taking one of Yusaku's fingers into his hands. "It was tough but I always have faith in Yusaku-chan!" Ryoken figured that if Ai had been human, there would have been a grin on his face.

Yusaku regarded his Ignis with a brief look and a small smile. "We almost lost," he met Ryoken's amethyst eyes, "but I had to fight on. I couldn't give up - not when everybody was counting on me."

Ryoken recalled his own words, lying upon the bed of blue flowers before disintegrating into data. _I leave the rest to you, Playmaker... and Ai_. After his defeat to the Light Ignis, it was all up to Playmaker. It was obvious that he had been successful, but Yusaku looked worse for wear. "You look like hell," he said bluntly, catching Playmaker off guard. "Sit down before you fall over."

After a brief moment of hesitation, the hero of VRAINS did just that, taking the seat that Genome had been sitting in. He pressed a hand to his forehead, shutting an eye in pain. "I just woke up and I already want to sleep again."

Ryoken frowned. Of course Playmaker would be exhausted. He had watched all of his friends die and had to fight past his pain. He had to fight against Bohman when he was the embodiment of Link VRAINS itself. If his own body hurt - well, rather Takeru's body - he could only imagine what it must have been like for Yusaku.

"Where's Kusanagi-san?" There was concern evident in the teen's voice. Ai's silence reflected his worry as well. "And Jin-"

"We're outside of the convalescent home now," Ryoken explained before Yusaku could trail off. "Kusanagi-san is checking up on Jin right now."

Yusaku perked up and Ai did a small celebratory motion. "So everyone's back to normal!"

Ryoken bit his tongue and forced a smile. "Yep," he lied through his teeth, cursing his own damned luck. "I wonder about Blue Maiden and the Knights of Hanoi."

The weight on Yusaku's shoulders lessened and he seemed slightly happier. "I'm sure they're fine. It's Jin I'm worried about."

Ryoken thought back on his duel with the Light Ignis. The bastard had linked his data with Jin's consciousness and used him as a hostage in order to stay Ryoken's hand. It was an underhanded tactic and Ryoken was surprised at himself for not winning the duel then and there. Losing one life to save thousands of others? The answer was obvious to him.

He removed his glasses to wipe at his eyes. He was still weighed down with sleepiness. Maybe Takeru had terrible stamina and Ryoken was taking the hit. However, the muscles he could feel on his forearms and calves disproved that thought immediately.

Ryoken clenched his hands into fists. Takeru probably had a mean right hook and somewhere in his mind, Ryoken was glad that their duel hadn't turned into a _let's-use-Revolver-as-a-punching-bag_ scenario.

"Say," he found himself saying before his thoughts caught up to him. "What do you think of Revolver now?"

Hopefully the question didn't take Yusaku off guard. After Soulburner's outburst in VRAINS, it wasn't absurd for Takeru to be asking Yusaku's opinion of the Hanoi leader. As much as Ryoken hated to admit it, he wanted to discover Yusaku's thoughts on him. If he knew how Playmaker really felt about him, he could plan accordingly for their next encounter.

Yusaku lowered his gaze to the floor between them, blue and pink bangs shrouding his face in shadow. "... It's complicated, to say the least."

Ryoken wanted to press on the subject but the door of the hotdog truck opened, revealing Kusanagi. Ryoken couldn't help but watch Yusaku's face light up at the sight of the man.

"Kusanagi-san!" He said in a breath, getting to his feet with a smile. Ai chimed in as well: "Kusanagi! Are you okay?"

The owner of Cafe Nagi smiled. "I should be asking you two."

Ryoken tightened his grip on his knees. This was still wrong, he shouldn't be the one here for this. Takeru was supposed to be the one here for this reunion.

"I'll let you guys catch up," he said hastily, getting to his feet and past Kusanagi to get out of the truck. He was sure it was sudden and that he'd be asked about it later, but he needed to figure out his predicament.

Once he was outside of the truck, he patted down his pockets for a cellphone. He let out a sigh of relief when he found a flip phone in his left pants pocket. He took a quick glance around his surroundings before dialing his own number.

He pressed the phone against his ear, praying that Takeru knew something as simple as how to answer a phone call. The subdued ringing made him tighten his grip on the phone, but the sound of the call being picked up brought him back to his senses.

His own voice carried through the line. "_H-hello?_"

God, Takeru made him sound pathetic. "Homura Takeru-"

"_Revolver_," Takeru sounded like he was on the verge of a panic attack. "_You must be Revolver,_" He seemed to be reassuring himself. "_This is so weird, I didn't even know who I was until I heard your voice..._"

Ryoken realized that the two of them had never met in person. He had known Takeru's appearance by keeping tabs on the Lost Incident victims, but now that he thought of it, Takeru had never seen him. The teen must have woken up in a random body on a random ship with no idea who he was.

"I think," Ryoken began, still slightly shaken by hearing his own voice directed at him, "that our consciousness data was mixed up after Bohman was defeated."

There was a pause, perhaps for Takeru to think over the prospect. "_Well, that makes more sense than what I came up with_."

Ryoken shifted his weight, leaning his back against Cafe Nagi's backside. "And what was that?"

Takeru sounded embarrassed when he admitted that he believed this to be a bad dream. Ryoken stifled a laugh. "This is straight out of a nightmare, so you're not that far off, Homura."

"_Anyways_," Takeru started with a hint of hope in his tone, "_do you have any idea how to fix this?_"

Ryoken cupped his elbow and ran a thumb over the smooth surface of the phone. "Our best bet would be to enter Link VRAINS and hope it resolves itself once we log out."

"_Aren't you some expert hacker?_" There was accusation in Takeru's voice, just like during their duel. "_Can't you rewrite some program or something to fix this?_"

It was then that Ryoken was painfully reminded how little Takeru knew about anything technological. If they were to be stuck in each other's bodies for an indefinite period of time, their charade was going to be hard to pull off.

Ryoken shut his eyes in exasperation. "I'd prefer a 100% success rate before I went through with something as dangerous as this. I don't need to put either of our lives on the line because you're impatient."

Takeru was seething. "_VRAINS is currently shut down_," He explained through clenched teeth. "_How the fuck are we supposed to fix this in the meantime?_"

"I would appreciate," Ryoken clenched a fist and took a step forward in a show of aggression, despite Takeru being miles away from him, "if you didn't use my voice to speak like that."

"_And who's gonna fucking stop me?_" The fire duelist challenged, and Ryoken decided it was best for his sanity to not imagine Takeru in his body, living his life, and using such vulgar language on a whim.

Gods, of all the people Ryoken could have been stuck in this situation with. He would have to strike some deal to prevent Takeru from ruining his reputation, and at this rate, his entire life.

"I can easily sever your friendship with Playmaker and Kusanagi Shoichi and delete your Ignis if you want to play that game." Ryoken was bluffing about the Fire Ignis, who he wasn't certain might even return after what happened with the Wind Ignis and Bohman. The threat on Yusaku and Kusanagi was empty, but if Takeru were to ruin his relationship with his Knights, then he might have to follow through with it.

"_... Fine._" Takeru finally submitted, pushing down his anger. "_But you better figure out how to fix this - and it better be soon._"

Ryoken's eye twitched. "I'd love to lie and say I can switch us back, but I have about as much of a plan as you about how to fix this." He tightened his grip on his forearm. "I need to do some research to figure this out so I don't make a foolish mistake."

Takeru huffed, "_So what am I supposed to do in the meantime? Pretend to be you?_"

Sighing to himself, Ryoken nodded. "Until I can figure out how to switch us back - yes, sadly."

"_I hardly know you_." Takeru voiced Ryoken's own thoughts. "_And you hardly know me_."

"That's true, but it will just be until I can solve this _error_." Ryoken let out a huff, reaching his ultimatum. "Just... Just do your best for the time being. I'll keep you updated."

Takeru breathed a sigh. "_I hate the idea of placing my faith in you, but I guess I'll have to_."

Ryoken ended the call, eyes lingering on the phone in his hand. Just when he thought everything was over and he could finally take a break,_ this_ happened. Of course, the problem with SOL Tech was right around the corner, but he figured that he could at least rest for a single day.

"Takeru?" Yusaku's voice echoed from the front of the truck, probably looking for him after his impromptu exit of the truck. "Where are you?"

Ryoken pocketed the phone and pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. This was going to be a long day.


	2. Zero-Day

_A/N: Thank you for all the faves/follows and reviews last chapter! I'm glad people like this fic so far. Also, I write Takeru very _rough_. He WAS a thug before he met Flame. He's the embodiment of the __"What up, I'm Jared, I'm 19, and I never fucking learned how to read"_ vine.

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Takeru half-expected a final remark from Ryoken, so when the man ended the call a split second after Takeru stopped talking, he recoiled at the deadpan of the reception dropping. He lowered the sleek (most definitely newest model) smartphone and sort of just stared at it for an extra second before slipping it back into the pocket of his slacks.

This was... definitely not what Takeru thought would be the first thing he would experience after he regained consciousness. To be fair, there were a lot of things he wouldn't be able to expect, but waking up on a yacht, in the body of a person he didn't know, and receiving a call from his own phone number definitely took the cake for unexpected.

"I'll take _scenarios that you couldn't make up even if you tried_ for 1000, Alex," he muttered to himself, laughing bitterly at his own joke. He still wasn't used to hearing Revolver's voice whenever he spoke, and the low rumble of a laugh just felt discordant against his ears.

He was sitting on a semi-carpeted floor with his back against a king-size bed. Takeru didn't even need to look around to know that this bishounen-looking _twink_ had more money than he could ever dream of using. Kogami Ryoken had a fortune at his fingertips and Takeru was barely paying his train fare on a weekly basis. Maybe he would have to transfer some money over to his own bank account before they switched back.

Takeru's eyes caught a mirror hanging on one of the adjacent walls. He got to his feet using the support of the bed, and once he was standing, he realized just how much his back and waist hurt from the 90 degree angle that Ryoken left his body at before going to Link VRAINS. Wasn't this guy supposed to be really smart or something? Even Takeru, everyone's favorite local dumbass, could have figured out that being on the god damn _king-size bed_ would have been better than sitting against it.

With a slight hunch and a hand pressed against his back to try and alleviate the pain, he made his way across the room. Takeru dreaded whenever he was to get old because this pain was unbearable. It was solacing to know that these aches would fade, but living with them, knowing that they won't just go away after a night's rest? Scary.

Reaching the mirror, Takeru found himself staring at his own reflection. Ryoken had fair skin, a sharp chin, and strong neck bones. Then there was his neatly-combed white hair, shorter spikes jutting backwards with indigo highlights.

He ran his fingers through the hair, a slight grimace on his face. "There's no way this isn't dyed - it looks like a fuckin' snowman threw up up there..."

Takeru recomposed himself after a quick chuckle, taking notice of how piercing Ryoken's clear blue eyes were. He drew the connection to the second Revolver avatar and its similar eyes, but these were the real deal. And, just like his avatar, Ryoken had very long eyelashes, Takeru only now noticing as he was examining his face. The man definitely did skin treatment and makeovers when he wasn't doing something VRAINS related. There was no way he looked like this without any touch-ups.

Looking past his sharp nose - "He could use this as a weapon!" - he ran his eyes over Ryoken's slim figure. Pink v-neck, which Takeru could give the man credit for wearing, a casual gray suit jacket, black slacks, and gray loafers. Yep, Ryoken definitely had money and Takeru was already brainstorming possible password combinations for Ryoken's bank account.

While he was absentmindedly debating on whether looking at his reflection meant checking Ryoken out, there was a flurry of knocks at the door to the bed room.

"Ryoken-sama!"

Takeru nearly jumped a foot into the air. There was somebody else here? Oh no no no no no, he wasn't prepared to impersonate Ryoken -

The door all but flew open, revealing Spectre, who Takeru remembered being Revolver's right hand man. The teen wore an expression of panic and concern, but at seeing Takeru standing in front of the mirror perfectly fine, it faded into a look of "I knew you'd be okay all along".

Takeru was about to address Spectre by name but held his tongue. There was no way Spectre was the guy's actual name. But Takeru had no clue what the Hanoi Knight's name might have been, so he would just have to play it by ear and act natural.

"I'm glad to see you're well," Takeru lowered his voice slightly because Ryoken seemed like the kind of guy that would lower his voice enough to pitch in a rumbling baritone. He let a small smile pull at his lips and he raised his eyebrows hoping to give the connotation of relief. Ryoken would have been relieved to see his friend well, especially after his defeat to Lightning. "Did you just regain consciousness?"

"About three minutes ago." Spectre held his hands behind his back and Takeru reflexively straightened his own posture to match the former's. Ryoken definitely seemed like the kind of person that would stand up as straight as possible to make himself look taller and more intimidating. "I had to make sure I was really alive before checking on you."

Takeru tried to keep his own emotions from showing as he thought over Spectre's words. Ryoken sure was lucky, having someone like Spectre that was willing to bend over backwards for him and be ready at his beck and call. He wondered if Ryoken considered Spectre a friend or something more along the lines of a comrade and an underling. Whatever the answer was, Takeru was sure that _Ryoken-sama_ was taking his dear Spectre for granted.

"... Thank you." Takeru shut his eyes with a small smile. He could give Spectre the appreciation he probably deserved because he was technically Kogami Ryoken right now. He could also disband the Knights of Hanoi right now if he really wanted to, but he was sure that Ryoken would dive head-first into the ocean, swim to wherever the hell this boat even was, and strangle Takeru with his own two hands.

Spectre took a bow with his own smile. "Anything for you, Ryoken-sama."

Takeru noted that Spectre wore a similar gray suit jacket. From what Takeru could remember from rebroadcasts of the duels before the Tower of Hanoi, Spectre had loved the Lost Incident because he felt like he had a purpose, leading him back to the Knights of Hanoi after he was rescued. To him, Ryoken was his savior and Spectre had dedicated his life to serving him. Spectre must have elected a similar dress to his beloved Ryoken, or perhaps Ryoken had given the plant duelist a spare jacket.

For the first time since waking up, Takeru noticed the clawing of hunger in his stomach. When was the last time Ryoken had eaten? ... How long had they all been in VRAINS? Based on the amount of duels they had versus Lightning's group, it had to have been more than half a day. Or maybe it wasn't that long and Takeru was just bad at math.

"Is there anything to eat?" He asked tentatively. This definitely wouldn't be in character for Ryoken - or at least, what Takeru thought would be in character for Ryoken - but he was extremely hungry.

Spectre blinked those doe-like turquoise eyes at him and Takeru was sure he had made some mistake, but the former gave a small, subtle bow. "Kyoko and I will take care of it."

Spectre left, closing the door behind him, and Takeru stood still, rooted in fear, at the prospect of another person being here. Kyoko? Who was that? Spectre was doable because Takeru knew what to expect and he knew how the former viewed Ryoken. But Takeru had no plan for this Kyoko person. They must have been a Knight of Hanoi.

Takeru thought back on the recordings he had binged after his "reincarnation" with Flame. Revolver's most trusted Knights were Spectre, Faust, Genome, and Vyra. Kyoko was a woman's name so... Vyra? Yeah, that made sense.

Well, he was stuck here until Spectre came back to fetch him. He had no desire to explore the boat and possibly have to interact with Kyoko prematurely. He might as well gather some intel for Yusaku for the time being.

He sat down with his back to the mirror and retrieved Ryoken's phone from his pocket. The lock screen was a picture of a young Ryoken with who he assumed was his father. Takeru's hand gripped the phone tighter out of reflex at seeing Kogami, the one who had ruined his life through the Lost Incident, but he took a deep breath and decided against throwing the phone across the room. It was Ryoken's phone and the picture must have served as a reminder of his goals as Revolver.

Takeru stared at the picture for a beat too long before swiping the screen up. He was met by the lock demanding a password, and he almost gave up then and there before the phone recognized his fingerprint. He sighed in relief. This wasn't going to be as difficult as he thought it would be.

Ryoken was... a minimalist, to say the least. For his apps, there was the phone, messaging, emails, some debugger apps that must have helped with hacking, and a notepad. Oddly, Takeru figured that Ryoken wouldn't have an excess of applications and would probably just use his phone for communication. Something irked him about the lack of personalization. Although, it wouldn't hurt to go through his texts, would it?

Takeru was miffed when Ryoken's texts consisted of messages to the other Knights containing either yes's, no's, confirmations, and random strings of code that Takeru couldn't even begin to understand. Okay, maybe this wasn't difficult to find, but this wasn't any secret information that he could have given Yusaku or threatened Ryoken with in general.

With his finger hovering over the notepad app, Takeru hesitated. What was he even doing? He expected Ryoken to respect his privacy, so why was he going through Ryoken's stuff? This was wrong. This was extremely wrong and Takeru found himself shutting the phone off and pocketing it before his thoughts caught up to him.

There was a pair of knocks before the door creaked open and Spectre stepped back into the room. "Ryoken-sama...?" He eyed Takeru with a slightly confused look at seeing the Hanoi leader sitting on the floor, back pressed up against the mirror. "The food... The food is ready."

Takeru pressed his lips together, screaming internally, and tried not to fall apart on the spot. "Thank you," he stood up with as much grace as he could and walked to stand beside Spectre. Takeru noted that Ryoken was taller than him and Spectre. Although he detested any time he spent in Ryoken's body, he could get used to these extra few inches.

Spectre gave a practiced smile before leading the way to the dining area. Takeru followed behind and glanced around in awe at the innards of the yacht. The hallway they were walking through was definitely larger than Takeru's entire bed room back home. There were exquisite paintings hung along the walls and there were doors, which Takeru assumed led to the rooms of the other Knights.

Takeru recalled Spectre mentioning Kyoko. Did that mean Faust and Genome weren't here? And if they weren't, where were they? Takeru briefly wondered if he could find the answer in Ryoken's messages, but he trashed the thought instantly at remembering the pattern of Ryoken's texts. Maybe he would have to call the man that was currently in his body sometime later and get a recap.

When they approached the dining area, Takeru noticed a redhead - Kyoko, he deduced - facing the stove with her back to them. Hearing footsteps, she turned around and her gray eyes met Takeru's with a soft look of concern.

"Ryoken-sama," she offered a small bow. "I'm sorry about how things went with the Light Ignis." She returned to scraping the contents of the frying pan onto a disposable paper plate, her back turned to him and Spectre. "At least Playmaker won against Bohman and thing's are finally back to normal."

Not trusting his tongue, he gave a noncommittal "hmph," and he hoped that Ryoken would have given a similar response. From the sound of it, Revolver must have dueled and lost to Lightning. The man seemed to be a prideful person, so a subordinate bringing up what must have been a sore loss might have evoked such a response. Takeru was just playing everything by ear and hoping that Spectre and Kyoko would give cues and he could just lie his way through conversations until Ryoken figured out how to switch them back.

"_Yaki gyoza_?" Takeru asked, not hiding the surprise in his tone. It couldn't have been more than twenty or thirty minutes since he told Spectre that he was hungry. He was astounded by Kyoko's efficacy as a chef.

Kyoko gave a small smile. "I had everything premade. I just had to cut and fill the dough."

Glancing back to Spectre, Takeru noticed the wavering of his fake smile. Something had to have been wrong. Was Kyoko a bad cook? Or maybe Spectre wasn't a pork person? Whatever it was, at least he knew that Ryoken had a good taste in food and they weren't _total_ opposites.

Takeru took a seat at the table, noting the unbroken chopsticks and a filled glass of water next to his plate. Ryoken was really living the life here. Takeru would have had to drag himself out of bed and make his own food if he was in his own body. Maybe Ryoken would learn some modesty through the horrible predicament they were currently in.

Spectre stood obediently behind Takeru's chair with his hands behind his back. Takeru turned his head and looked past his shoulder with a soft smile. "You're free to join me, you know."

Spectre blinked twice and Takeru was sure he had screwed it up. He had probably read their dynamic wrong and Spectre really _was_ just an underling-

"Thank you, Ryoken-sama, but I am not one for _gyoza_." His voice was as proper as Takeru remembered it. "But I suppose you could catch me up on everything that happened after I lost my duel against the Light Ignis."

"Right," Takeru mumbled, letting his eyes land on the plate Kyoko was serving so Spectre wouldn't see his internal panic. He tried to collect his own thoughts and piece together a timeline of everything that happened. "Well, Soulburner defeated the Wind Ignis," he tried not to think about Windy and what he did to Flame as he continued, "and Blue Maiden lost to Bohman. Then Playmaker fought against Kusanagi Shoichi, and Soulburner lost against Bohman..."

He used his chopsticks to bring a dumpling onto his plate. Truthfully, the last thing he remembered before waking up in Ryoken's body was Flame's death and his own body disintegrating into data. He figured that Revolver dueled Lightning and Playmaker dueled Bohman, but if he was asked for specific details, he had no clue and would have to completely bullshit his way through a conversation.

Spectre was, without a doubt, an expert in Ryoken's body language and speech mannerisms. He didn't press on about Ryoken's duel with Lightning, and Takeru ate each bite of _gyoza_ with persistent anxiety that Spectre was going to expose him for who he actually was. He must have had at least the teensiest, tiniest suspicion about "Ryoken".

Kyoko spoke after swallowing her own bite of dumpling. "What is your plan from here?"

Takeru nearly choked on the pork and chives in his mouth. Plan? He had no plan. Ryoken would have had a plan, but he wasn't Ryoken - well, he _was_, but he _wasn't_ \- and he certainly didn't have any plan ready for him to divulge into.

On the spot, he recalled Go Onizuka and Blood Shepherd. They were both working for SOL Technologies and out for the Ignis. That seemed plausible enough for a split second excuse.

He frowned, faking an expression of uncertainty. "Investigating SOL Technologies. We'll see where that takes us, but I want to figure out what their hidden hierarchy has planned."

Takeru was actually pulling this all out of his ass. He figured that a shady corporation would have people working in the shadows - why else would they hire bounty hunters? - so it should seem feasible enough. And if he was onto something, he could share his impromptu plan with Yusaku and Kusanagi.

Kyoko held her chopsticks, tapping the ends against her plate in contemplation. "Hm. We would have to act fast if we were to go through with that - especially with SOL in shambles, trying to relaunch VRAINS."

"The sooner we start the better," Spectre nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with Takeru. "We should call Aso and Genome back."

Takeru nodded in response. He had no idea where Aso and Genome were. He also had no clue how to do any hacking or investigating into this theoretical underground network of SOL Technologies.

Sadly, he had a phone and the ability to call his own number. Takeru despised the idea of relying so heavily on Ryoken, but he really had no choice right now.

He excused himself with the alibi of calling Aso and Genome, leaving the dining area and roaming the long hallways. He may or may not have taken a few wrong turns and ended up lost, but he eventually found the deck, late afternoon March winds breezing around him. The strong smell of saltwater reminded him of home and sitting on the pier edges with Kiku, feet dangling above the waves.

He took in a deep breath and pushed his memories back. He hoped that Ryoken would fix this soon. He wanted his life back and it had probably only been an hour or so since he had woken up in the wrong body. An hour was already way too long. How would he survive as Ryoken for an indefinite period of time?

Takeru pulled the phone from his pocket with a sense of urgency, suppressed his anger at seeing Ryoken's lock screen again, and began dialing his own number.


	3. Phishing

_A/N: If it wasn't for the stress of the end of the semester, band, and the release of Fallen Berkut in FEH, this chapter probably could have been done a week ago. Shame on me._

* * *

Ryoken tensed against his phone vibrating against his leg. Some stupid jingle was going off and he kept a smile plastered on his face, hoping that ignoring it would make it go away. Whatever Yusaku had been saying died on his lips and he tilted his head slightly, eyebrows narrowing in confusion. "Aren't you going to answer that...?"

Ai placed his hands on his hips and extended from the Duel Disk, leaning in towards Ryoken with a look of smugness. "Is it your girlfriend from back home? Hmmm, Takeru-chaaaan?"

Yusaku proceeded to shove Ai back into the Disk and mute him. There was a silent rebuttal from the AI but Yusaku returned his focus back to Ryoken, green eyes softening slightly. "I'll go talk to Kusanagi-san and figure out our plan from here, feel free to join us when you're done, alright?"

Ryoken nodded in lieu of a verbal response, watching as Yusaku got to his feet and made his way to the front of the truck. With a wary gaze, he checked the flip phone, and of course, his own number was projected on the front screen. "Gods, what did he do now..."

He opened the phone with a half-baked expectation ready and prepared for the worst. "It's been all of an hour, what did you do."

"_Hey, don't go accusing me already. I haven't even told you why I called yet_."

"So?" Ryoken had no desire for small talk and he was already annoyed. "Did Spectre or Kyoko figure out already?" If they had, Ryoken would have been extremely let down - which would be amusing, considering that Ryoken had no expectations for Takeru and Takeru would somehow still disappoint him.

There was a faked gasp from the other end. "_Do you really have no faith in your dear Ryoken-sama? I'll have you know-_"

"No. Stop right there." Ryoken pinched the bridge of his nose, squeezing his eyes shut as if he could block the words out. This really couldn't be any worse. "Please don't _ever_ say that with my voice."

Takeru must have been grinning and Ryoken realized the trap that he had just walked into. "_Oh, so you like it when Spectre says it then-_"

It took all of Ryoken's willpower to not crush the phone in his hand and catapult it into the nearest body of water. He spoke with gritted teeth and a strained voice, "I will personally find your girlfriend and crush her heart if you so much as-"

"_Whoa, whoa, whoa!_" Takeru interrupted, and Ryoken bit his tongue to stop himself from continuing his threat. "_Kiku doesn't deserve that - plus, she's not my girlfriend_."

Oh. So Ai was teasing him earlier. Well, there goes one of his trump cards. Of course, he could still threaten Takeru about Yusaku or Kusanagi, but currently, Takeru had more power. The dimwit could technically disband the Knights of Hanoi if he wanted to. (And if he did, Ryoken would dive headfirst into the ocean, swim to his yacht, and strangle Takeru with his own two hands.)

Ryoken sighed, not in the mood to put up with the back-and-forth bickering. "You still haven't said why you called."

"_Oh right_," Takeru paused, gathering his thoughts. "_We should probably tell each other what we're like so we can pull this charade off_."

Ryoken clicked his tongue. Yeah, that was probably a good idea, actually. He had no idea when he would be able to figure out their dilemma and switch them back. He still hadn't had the chance to get some privacy and start doing research. For the time being, it wouldn't hurt.

"Well, as you already know, my name is Kogami Ryoken and my father was the creator of the Lost Incident," he lowered his voice, just in case anyone was listening, "As Revolver, I'm the leader of the Knights of Hanoi and we're-"

"_Dude, I don't need your entire life story!_" Ryoken blinked, words dying in his throat at Takeru's interruption. "_I just need to know your personality, how you talk, and anything that's relevant to all this coding crap_."

Ryoken took in a deep breath, hands shaking in frustration. "That _is_ my personality, you idiot." He sighed. "... All I am is a weapon for my father to point."

His breath caught in his throat. Where had that come from? Why was he letting Takeru see this vulnerability of his?

"_O-oh_" Takeru gaped, probably taken aback just as much as Ryoken was. "_I thought your father was...?_"

_Dead_ hung in the silence between them.

"He is," Ryoken cut in. "But that doesn't matter now." It definitely mattered to him, but he wasn't about to show Takeru any more vulnerability. He was quick to change the subject. "... What about you? What should I know about you?"

Takeru sucked his teeth and Ryoken prepared for the worst. "_After the Incident, I lived with my grandparents because my parents died in an accident looking for me. I had no reason to live and I became a shut-in. I stopped going to school and just picked fights for the sake of fighting_." He laughed to himself. "_I guess you could call me a thug. My grandparents and Kiku were the only reason I stayed alive - and Flame was the reason I changed and why I'm here in Den City_."

Ryoken guessed it made sense that Takeru had no knowledge of technology. The teen was probably traumatized after the Incident. And the constant fights explained the muscles. However, Homura Takeru certainly did not look anything like a thug and Ryoken had a hard time imagining it.

"You? A thug?" He chuckled to himself. "You look like a creampuff."

And, without missing a beat, was the fiery reply. "_If I was in my body, I could strangle you with five - no -_ four _fingers_."

Ryoken smirked. "Well, as it is right now, I'm the one with the six pack and the one that can do the bodying."

"_Oh, you wanna go? You wanna go...!_" Takeru's voice trailed off, realizing Ryoken's words. "_Wait. You fucking checked me out? Dude, what the f-_"

Ryoken slammed the phone shut and promptly shoved it into his pocket. Nope. Takeru's wasted enough of his time and they definitely weren't having that conversation. Besides, he didn't check Takeru out. Feeling the muscles just sort of... happened.

He cleared his throat despite not speaking. Maybe it was to clear his thoughts. Right, to clear his thoughts. That made sense. Now he would go join Yusaku and Kusanagi and see what intel he could get while he was still Takeru. He was sure that as soon as he was Ryoken again, he wouldn't be getting anywhere close to Cafe Nagi.

He got up and went to the front of the truck, stumbling in on Yusaku and Kusanagi discussing their plans now that the Light Ignis was gone and Jin was back to normal. "Hey, sorry about that," he lied quickly, "mind catching me up on the plan?"

Kusanagi leaned over, patting him on the shoulder and all but dragging him into the empty chair they had dragged in for him. "We're just speculating on what actions SOL might take now that most of the Ignis are gone."

Ryoken all but fell into the seat, barely catching himself on the arm of the chair and having to adjust his glasses once he got his bearings. Well, it looked like Team Playmaker had the same idea as him. Of course, it wasn't exactly rocket science to figure out that SOL Tech was going to be the next hurtle, but this meant that the Knights of Hanoi were probably going to end up working with Yusaku and his group once again. Oh well. They had a common enemy after all, and Ryoken could use any of the help that he could get.

"Ai is the only one left," Ryoken reiterated, catching the attention of the Dark Ignis, "so maybe they'll just try to find your identity and track you down in real life?"

Yusaku gave a slight nod, hands tightening on his knees. "Hopefully it won't be like the Another incident."

Ryoken tensed but let himself relax with a deep breath. He was still Takeru and he was sure Takeru didn't know about that. "The Another incident?"

Yusaku and Kusanagi shared a look, perhaps to convey their mutual forgetting of Takeru joining their party after the Tower of Hanoi. Kusanagi voiced this when he said, "I forgot that you weren't around for that."

Ryoken laughed nervously, recalling his conversation with Takeru over the phone. "Yeah, I was still a shut-in back then."

Yusaku nodded and Ryoken praised himself inwardly for increasing the credibility of his facade. "One of the Knights of Hanoi infected duelists in Link VRAINS with computer viruses because they were trying to hunt me down."

"Oh wow," Ryoken gaped. He hoped his surprise sounded genuine. "I hope SOL doesn't try that. I doubt it would work, anyway."

Ryoken did his best to keep a straight face and stop his thoughts from trailing off. The Another incident was pioneered by Kyoko, and while the elimination of the victims did nothing to help, Ryoken had gotten video from a surveillance camera that helped him identify Yusaku and Kusanagi. Truthfully, he still didn't want SOL to attempt it either and _King_ and _Queen_ definitely knew better than doing something that risky with no guarantee for success.

Kusanagi sighed, locking his fingers behind his head and leaning backwards in his chair. "I think they're at least smart enough to learn from the Hanoi's mistake. We just need to anticipate what they might do in lieu of that."

"Yeah," Ryoken did his best to be mindful of what he said. He would love to defend Kyoko but that wasn't exactly something in character for Takeru. "It's best that we're a few steps ahead of them."

Without precedent, Ai popped out of Yusaku's Duel Disk. "I'd _hate_ to interrupt this but where did those two Knights of Hanoi go? Are they eavesdropping on us?"

Ryoken wasn't forgetful but he almost didn't remember Aso and Genome being in the hotdog truck earlier. He had been the one to order them here in the first place, but he didn't recall them ever leaving.

Kusanagi tilted his head with a slight frown. "Oh, them? They left a little while ago." He brought his gaze to the side window, eyes catching on some passersby. "Something classified but it's probably to return to their home base."

Ryoken hid his surprise. Who had called them back? It couldn't have been Takeru; the teen probably didn't even know Aso and Genome's names. Maybe Spectre or Kyoko sent for them? Or maybe they just decided to leave, now that everything was back to normal. He was surprised that they hadn't stayed to gather information on Team Playmaker, however. It wasn't a big deal, especially with Ryoken currently playing the role of undercover agent.

Yusaku spoke for the first time in awhile. "It's getting dark out."

Ryoken bit back a _what?_ before it fell out of his mouth. Glancing out the side window, he realized the sun was setting, but what did that have to do with anything-

"You might as well stay at my apartment, Takeru," Yusaku continued, and Ryoken stared back in shock. "There's no way you're catching the train home at this hour."

Ryoken swallowed past the lump in his throat. This... was not favorable at all. How was he supposed to research a cure to his condition if he was spending the night at Yusaku's? Plus, spending the night at Yusaku's meant... well, _spending the night with Yusaku_.

"Right," he practically spat out, just wanting to say something instead of staring at Yusaku, "that would be great."

* * *

This wasn't great at all.

Ryoken lay on the floor next to Yusaku's bed, on his side and facing away from the teen. He pulled his blankets over his head, leaving his feet out in the cold of Yusaku's unheated apartment, and kept his breathing even. With how things turned out today, he had gotten no research done or any planning for the future done at all. He was still Homura Takeru and Takeru was probably in the process of royally screwing up everything. His life might as well be falling apart at this rate.

Takeru's Duel Disk glowed dimly next to him. It was an older model, and Ryoken realized that this was the same one he must have used during the Lost Incident. Curiously, he took the deck into his hands and thumbed through the first cards. It seemed to be a basic Fire King deck. These must have been dummy cards, in case Takeru had to duel in real life and hide his identity as Soulburner. And by the look of the cards, Ryoken deduced that the deck must have been used during the Lost Incident as well.

Ryoken also deduced that Yusaku was a light sleeper that didn't snore. Ryoken could breathe slightly louder and Yusaku would shift in his bed, either waking up from the disturbance or simply being kept awake by it. Nevertheless, Ryoken felt like Yusaku was hyper-aware of him. He pulled the blankets further above his head.

In this odd game of hiding and listening, Ryoken realized how stupid this all was. He was in the body of Homura Takeru and he was practically having a sleepover with Yusaku. Some nostalgic part of him reminisced on the fact that he was sixteen again and he was technically spending time with a friend. When _he_ was sixteen, he had already bared the weight of being Revolver and fulfilling all of his father's wishes. This was... nice, in a way.

He was starting to get hot under all of the blankets he had piled on top of him. He recalled the apartment having a balcony - maybe he could get some fresh air and clear his thoughts. At least he wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of Yusaku's eyes on him.

Out of habit, he grabbed the Duel Disk when he got up. He mumbled something about going to the bathroom when Yusaku stirred and asked where he was going, but he found himself on the other side of the apartment, bare feet skittish on the cold wooden panels of the balcony. He placed his arms on the railing and looked out into the sky. There was no view of the horizon, as another brick apartment complex stood in front of him, but the night sky painted with stars hung above him.

In a bout of lethargy, he lay his head against his arm, glasses shifting uncomfortably to press against his cheek. It would probably leave an imprint against his face if he left them like that, but he was too tired to care. Plus, it wasn't even his body, so what did he care?

On their way to Yusaku's apartment, the teen mentioned how they would probably have to attend school tomorrow to keep their profiles low. With everything going on since first entering Mirror Link VRAINS, the two hadn't been to school in a couple of days. According to Yusaku, they had both already missed numerous school days because of being in VRAINS, and it was clear that they didn't need their identities found out.

Ryoken sighed through his teeth, watching his breath form a cloud and dissipate into the early spring air. When had he last been to school? He had been pulled out around the time he was... ten, maybe? At that point, Kyoko and Aso homeschooled him because of the condition his father was in after SOL Tech implanted him with that computer virus.

No, wait. He blinked slowly, sleep tugging at his mind. The Light Ignis had been the one to do that, not SOL. The Light Ignis had been the root of everything, the reason why all of this was happening in the first place. He was glad the Ignis was gone, especially for all the trouble it caused.

And as much as Ryoken hated to admit it, some part of him was sad to see all of the Ignis gone. Ai was the only one left after the war that had ensued. If he had been the same Revolver he was during the time of the Tower of Hanoi - hell, if he had been the same Revolver as he was before his duels in Mirror Link VRAINS, he would have been ecstatic to see all of the Ignis deleted. Them being gone would mean that he fulfilled his father's wishes and did his job as his dutiful son.

But seeing Playmaker and Ai, Soulburner and Flame, Blue Maiden and Aqua, his heart faltered. Then there was the fact that Windy had been reprogrammed by the Light Ignis, who would have been completely normal and dueling with his partner had it not been for the Light Ignis. And somehow, Earth and Aqua had been in love. That was still baffling to him. However, the moral of the story was still the same: the Ignis had been living creatures and he had spent the past five years of his life trying to hunt them down and execute them for his father.

He thought back on the end of his duel with the Light Ignis, when the latter had used Kusanagi Jin as a hostage to stop Ryoken from attacking. Had Ryoken eradicated Jin's life to save humanity, maybe his father would have been proud. Of course, none of it would have mattered in the end; Bohman had absorbed the Light Ignis and Playmaker had won at the end of it all.

"Forgive me, father," he murmured wispily to himself, half asleep and slightly shivering from the cold. "I couldn't even fulfill your final wish."

The Duel Disk buzzed to life in front of his face. "Takeru?"

Ryoken snapped out of his trance after a beat, his head shooting up. His Duel Disk just spoke-

The Fire Ignis sprouted out of the screen like some sort of fire flower, golden eyes wide with concern. "Takeru, it's freezing out here, you need to get inside before you get sick."

He blinked stupidly. All of the Ignises besides Ai were supposed to be gone. Bohman had absorbed them all and then his data had been deleted along with the rest of Mirror Link VRAINS. This didn't make any sense.

Flame stretched forward, tapping his fingers against Ryoken's face as if to get him to refocus. "Takeru, we can talk when we get inside. You're going to get sick."

Ryoken became re-aware of his freezing bare feet, the goosebumps running along his skin, and his hair standing up on end. How had he gotten so distracted to forget the bitter cold nipping at his entire body? Perhaps the cold had dulled his mind as well.

And in Ryoken half-asleep thoughts, he could have sworn that Flame was living up to his name and emitting warmth. That didn't make sense either, and he was probably imagining things about now. The Ignis was probably just increasing the output of the Duel Disk and creating the heat that way.

"Yeah," he said finally, letting out a breath, "let's get inside."

* * *

_A/N: Is anyone really surprised at me bringing back Flame? Because you really shouldn't be lol. Ryoken and Flame interactions are soon to come. I have my finals tomorrow and it's one in the morning. My first final is in seven hours. Pray for me._


	4. Decryption

Ryoken was not the kind of person to get irritated by small things. A foolish coding error preventing an algorithm from working? Fair, that's bound to happen. His phone went missing because he fell asleep with it in his hand? It was embarrassing to admit but it happens. It's the annoying clicking of a pen, the idle tapping of a keyboard. It's the constant ticking of a clock and the sounds of trains in the distance.

He was usually annoyed by the bigger catastrophes, like when the Tower of Hanoi failed or when they were dealing with the Light Ignis and its mischief. His father's death and everything that followed was a good example. Small nuisances were nothing, especially when that's exactly what they were: small nuisances.

But there was something that irked him and got under his skin about the Fire Ignis acting like some kind of goddammed _night light_ while he was trying to sleep. Was Homura Takeru so childish that he needed a night light? Was he afraid of the dark or monsters under his futon? The guy was sixteen! It's not like he was still six-years-old, cowering under his blanket and waiting for his parents to come and coddle him.

Ryoken's eyes snapped open, the underlying meaning of his thoughts catching up to him. Well. Maybe he had himself to blame for that. He squinted against the light of the Duel Disk and realized the blurriness of his vision was Takeru's terrible eyesight and lack of glasses. Of course, his glasses lay just out of reach on the nearby table, folded neatly for the morning. Ryoken made a mental note that when he was back in his body, he would never take his eyesight for granted ever again.

He turned onto his back, staring up at the ceiling of Yusaku's small living room. He had opted on staying in the living room after his venture to the balcony because he didn't need Yusaku waking up as soon as he would re-enter the bedroom, especially now that the Fire Ignis was back.

Speaking of the Fire Ignis, Ryoken recalled their conversation after he finally left the balcony and all but collapsed onto the living room floor.

_"How are you even here?" Ryoken asked earnestly. He may have been wearing the face of Takeru, but the question could easily have been asked by either of them. Flame was supposed to be gone along with the other Ignises. So how had he returned, alive, and in relatively good condition? It didn't make sense. "I thought Bohman-"_

_"Ai freed us," Flame interrupted with his arms crossed, but there was a wistful glint in his golden eyes as he spoke. Ryoken hardly knew this specific Ignis but he could tell there was something odd about this. "Bohman had absorbed us but Ai - Ai risked his life to save us."_

_Ryoken, still slightly trembling from the cold clinging to his bones, tightened his grip on the Duel Disk so his fingers would stop shaking. "So where are the other Ignis?"_

_What Ryoken had really wanted to ask was where the Light Ignis was. Frankly, he couldn't care less about the other few right now. Maybe the Wind Ignis to see if it had returned to its old programming, but he was worried solely about the status of the Light Ignis. If it got near Kusanagi Jin again, he wasn't sure what he would be able to do as Takeru._

_Flame visibly slumped, his lower body shrinking back into the Duel Disk. "I don't know. I don't even know if Ai is alright-"_

_"He's fine," Ryoken butted in instantly, not sure what came over him. The Fire Ignis looked surprised, eyes narrowing in slight suspicion before the look faded entirely. "He and Yusaku are asleep right now."_

_Flame rubbed at one of his eyes (which Ryoken found odd, considering there was nothing to wipe away and the fact that AI don't require sleep) and sunk even further into the Disk. "What time even is it anyway?" He leaned forward and examined Ryoken's face. "... You look tired."_

_Ryoken glanced around the room until his eyes finally found a clock. 2:47? Oh. That was a lot later than he had expected. And wasn't he going to school in a few hours?_

_"By the look on your face, I'm guessing it's late." Flame must have smiled if the lilt in his voice meant anything. The Ignis seemed to act like an older brother to Takeru, judging by the constant concern he had for his Origin. "Come on, let's get you to bed..."_

_Ryoken slowed his steps at the sight of Yusaku's room. Going back in there was a death sentence. He would have Yusaku's eyes on him, Flame would announce his return, Ai would greet him, everyone would stay awake and he would have to act again and it was almost three in the morning-_

_"I'm just going to stay in here..." He trailed off sleepily, playing it off like he was too tired to walk to Yusaku's bedroom. That probably would be in character for Takeru, so hopefully Flame would buy it and just call it a night._

_With as little grace as he could manage - which obviously meant smacking himself in the face twice in the process - he fumbled with his glasses and eventually folded them and left them on the table. He leaned down, grabbing an unfolded blanket left lying on the sofa and then lay down onto the carpeted floor. He placed the Duel Disk within arm's reach on the floor beside him, and after exchanging awkward good night's, Ryoken shut his eyes._

And Ryoken reopened his eyes to the irritatingly-bright light of the Duel Disk, questioning whether he should delete the Ignis program right then and there or if he should just ask Flame politely to stop - no, he wouldn't be doing either because this was stupid, it was a small nuisance, and _this was stupid_.

He reached up, eying a small, flat pillow from Yusaku's couch. It was harder to reach because Takeru had shorter arms than he had, so he had to push himself up in order to snatch it. This was going to take some getting used to. Ryoken hoped that they wouldn't be stuck in this situation for much longer, but the fact remained that he had made no progress this past day. He could only pray that Takeru had kept up their charade.

Ryoken turned over onto his stomach and proceeded to shove his face into the stiff pillow. He was going to get no sleep, waste half of the day at school, get sucked into social interactions, and he would make no progress in fixing this debacle. There was no way he was going to be able to fix this without slipping up his impression somewhere along the way.

Without realizing exactly when it happened, he slipped into unconsciousness.

Takeru leaned forward against the railings, taking in the late night air with a sense of nostalgia. The smell of saltwater reminded him of home, of days spent by the pier with Kiku. He tightened his grip on his forearms to suppress his lingering feelings of anger over this whole situation.

The fight with Lightning and Bohman was over. He should have been able to celebrate with Yusaku and Kusanagi-san and finally stopped home to see his grandparents and Kiku. He had been staying with Yusaku and Kusanagi for the days leading up to the big fight, and once everything started with Mirror Link VRAINS, it hadn't stopped until earlier today - and earlier today was when this whole ordeal began.

He breathed a sigh, eyes lingering on the rhythmic crash of waves against the boat's hull. That meant that his grandparents and Kiku hadn't seen him in probably two weeks. He hadn't even called them in that time period, which made matters worse. The fact remained that he couldn't call them now - not when he would be calling from Ryoken's phone and speaking in Ryoken's voice. And there was no way he was instructing Ryoken to be the one to call his grandparents.

Absently, he ran his fingers through his hair, slicking Ryoken's bangs backwards similar to Takeru's old hairstyle. Distantly, he wondered what the people back home would think of him now, now that he looked like a responsible high schooler. He looked like a goody two shoes now, which was an image he used to hate. He might give those delinquents back home whiplash from seeing his heel-turn. Maybe he could scare them back into line... or something like that.

Takeru found his clear blue eyes trailing to Ryoken's Duel Disk. Life had become so different after Flame arrived. He had been a shut-in and picked fights at every chance he could get. Flame had encouraged him to change himself - to _reincarnate_ \- and he finally found the light. After that duel, he had binged all of the VRAINS livestreams of Playmaker, Go Onizuka, and Blue Angel's duels with Flame from the time around the Tower of Hanoi. Those three had been his heroes and Takeru had become so inspired that he had chosen the frames for his glasses to be that same brilliant emerald green as Playmaker's eyes (which had become slightly embarrassing to admit after becoming friends with Yusaku).

As much as Takeru appreciated not needing glasses to see anymore, he missed his constant reminder of how his heroes had inspired him. Of course, his biggest inspiration wasn't with him right now - or even _alive_, for that matter.

Flame was dead. He had watched his partner disintegrate and fade away before his eyes. And Takeru had been powerless throughout it all. He had still lost to Bohman and Yusaku had to save the day as always. Takeru loved Yusaku, but knowing that he hadn't been able to help at all and that he was useless when it came down to it - it _hurt_. Yusaku didn't need him, not when he had a partner within the net in Ai and a partner outside of the net in Kusanagi-san. Takeru had been the add-on, anyways.

He hung his head, shoulders slumping. If only he had been stronger, he could have saved Flame and beaten Bohman. The other Ignis would still be alive and he would probably have been in his own body. If only he had been like Yusaku, he could have prevented all of this from happening.

"Ryoken-sama?"

Takeru jolted up in shock and spun around to face the voice. His arms were half-raised in a fighting position, and it was only when he realized the man before him was Spectre that he relaxed.

"Spectre!" He huffed out, voiced pitched higher as he tried to calm his nerves. "You scared me."

Spectre held his arms obediently behind his back, hawkish eyes trained on Takeru. "My apologies," he stated, but there was no sincerity to it. They were just words and the meaning was absent; Spectre's eyes said it all. "I knew there was something wrong."

Takeru swallowed past the lump in his throat and fixed Ryoken's bangs before Spectre could question it. Something was wrong? Well, something _definitely_ was wrong, but his situation was not something he wanted to disclose with Spectre. As much as he hated Revolver, he and Takeru had mutually agreed on keeping low profiles and hiding their identities until they found a way to switch back.

... Or maybe Spectre was just commenting on Takeru being out here so late at night? That could also be it. He was probably just worried for Ryoken's health and sleep schedule, and late night stargazing and questioning fate's cruelty was probably not on Spectre's list of expectations for his dear _Ryoken-sama_.

"You don't have to worry about me," Takeru assured, regaining his footing and speaking in Ryoken's regular register. "I couldn't sleep and I was just thinking."

"Excuse my rudeness but-" Spectre narrowed his eyes at Takeru, "Ryoken-sama, do you remember how we met?"

Oh fuck. _Oh fuck_. Takeru felt the panic instantly clamor in his chest. Spectre was suspicious and Spectre was testing him. This was the worst case scenario. Red alarms were going off in Takeru's head and he was sure that yelling mission abort and flinging himself off the side of the boat was a better alternative compared to Spectre's expectant gaze on him.

"Before the Lost Incident," he scrambled, scraping his mind for anything he could remember from those clips of Spectre's duels with Blue Angel and Playmaker. Oh yeah - the tree! "It was at your mother tree."

Spectre nodded and his look softened. Maybe that meant that Takeru had correctly bullshitted his way out of this dilemma. If so, Takeru had to give himself props; he was getting pretty good at improvising and pulling these alibis out of his ass. Maybe he'd buy himself ice cream tomorrow. No wait, he would still be on the boat-

Takeru was caught off guard when Spectre took a step forward and brandished his Duel Disk. "Duel me."

"W-what?" He sputtered, reactively taking a step back. His eyes widened slightly when the railing of the boat jammed itself against his spine. The chill of the steel served as a cold reminder that there was nowhere to run. "Spectre, it's two in the morning, please-"

"You're not Ryoken." Spectre hissed, baring his teeth with another step forward. "Tell me what you did to him, you imposter!"

Takeru pushed himself further back against the railing. In his peripheral vision, Ryoken's Duel Disk glittered against the moonlight, as if goading him to take a stand and fight back. He had seen Ryoken duel many times, but Takeru doubted that he could pull off using a Rokket deck. He could hardly pull off a Salamangreat deck. He wasn't as great of a duelist as people made him out to be - it was only with the help of Flame that he had made it this far. His thoughts raced to figure out a game plan. He couldn't duel... and if he couldn't duel...

He tightened his fist. He couldn't duel, but he could damn well_ fight_.

Takeru ducked, slipping into a boxing stance and pushed against the side of the boat to lean into a punch. Spectre jumped back before the blow connected but failed to hide his surprise.

Spectre dodged to the right, barely avoiding a suckerpunch. "What are you-?"

"You wanted a fight," Takeru huffed between punches, lunging towards Spectre and aiming for his side. "Stop running and fight back!"

"Tell me what you did to Ryoken-sama," Spectre said, but he was winded from this excursion. His breathing was uneven and his movements were getting sloppy. "You're... not a duelist, so why are you targeting him?"

Takeru finally landed a left hook, leaving Spectre reactively clutching his side and moving away from the punch. He read the movement and took advantage of Spectre's obvious dodge to the right with another punch. "And what if I_ am_ a duelist? Am I not allowed to know how to fight?"

Spectre held his side, losing a few inches because of his bent knees. He definitely didn't know how to fight. And Ryoken-sama didn't know how to either, so - "Who even are you?"

Takeru acted on instinct and grabbed Spectre by the collar, heartbeat thumping in his ears and adrenaline coursing through his veins. He tugged Spectre up, raising his other fist in a silent threat and narrowed his eyes at Ryoken's underling. "I'm the one who's got you at my mercy, so I'm the one asking the questions."

With those words, Spectre's look of fear faded and his eyes lit up in recognition. "Soulburner."

"What?" Takeru loosened his grip on Spectre's collar, letting the other man go in his shock. Spectre took the opportunity and danced a step back, fixing his shirt in the meantime.

"Your dialect, and your desire to fist fight instead of duel." The man explained, arms instinctively folding behind his back. "... I'm assuming that you and Ryoken-sama's consciousnesses were restored to the wrong bodies after Bohman's defeat."

Takeru took a step back, mouth agape. Well _fuck_. Spectre was smarter than he looked. Actually, scratch that; he kind of looked smart. Takeru shook his head; nevermind that, this was bad. Spectre had come here with the suspicion that he wasn't Ryoken. Kyoko and the other Knights probably had their doubts about him as well.

Realizing he was still poised to fight, he drew his arms back and crossed them against his chest. He visibly slumped, knowing there was no point in standing like Ryoken would. "Well, there's no point in hiding it because you hit the nail right on the head." The adrenaline was finally wearing off and he could finally think clearly. "I woke up as Ryoken and he's currently in my body."

Spectre straightened his back and stood to his full height, but he was still shorter than the slumping Takeru by half-a-head. "And how do you plan on fixing this?" He somehow frowned down at Takeru, despite the height difference. "You're certainly not running the Knights of Hanoi in this position."

Takeru noticed the slight look of pain that tugged at Spectre's face, despite the latter doing his damnedest to hide it. His punches must have hurt more that Spectre wanted to show. At least Takeru knew that fighting in Ryoken's body was a possibility, even if he wasn't as strong. "Sorry about the fight, first off... I kind of got carried away."

Spectre hmphed, pushing aside his formalities now that he knew _Ryoken's_ true identity. "It allowed me to see the connection and deduce your identity."

Takeru scoffed. That was fancy talk for his fighting ruining the charade. Oh well. Ryoken was the only one who this might hurt, and who knows? Maybe Spectre could help rectify their situation "Whatever... It was bound to happen eventually."

"And while I don't trust you in the least bit," Spectre gave up on his posture, shortening half of an inch, and Takeru could finally see the man's weariness. Spectre certainly looked like a person that lived for somebody else. "It's two in the morning, and now I need to care for my injuries."

"Right, sorry about that," Takeru found himself settling into the new persona he had, once he had begun his life in Den City. He had reincarnated for a reason: to put his anger and tendency to constantly fight behind him. "I hope you know Revolver and I switching bodies was not my intention and I'm just trying to keep my profile low until he figures out how to fix this."

Spectre turned around, gray bangs swaying with the spin, and made his way back towards the inside of the boat. He looked over his shoulder, meticulous turquoise eyes trained on Takeru. "I hope _you_ know that you did a terrible job if I was able to figure out your identity this quickly."

Takeru's rebuttal died in his throat once Spectre re-entered the inside of the boat, leaving the displaced teenager by his lonesome. He heaved a sigh, clenching and unclenching his fists to relieve some stress. This certainly wasn't how he expected his night to go. And his body was starting to take the hit after his fighting excursion. Yeah, Ryoken's body definitely wasn't made for fighting. Maybe that's why Ryoken had focused on dueling.

He rubbed his temples and breathed another sigh. He needed to go to bed. The last time he slept was the night before he had gone into Mirror Link VRAINS, and he had no clue when that was. Probably way longer than he should go without sleep.

Takeru shlept himself forward and into the inside of the boat, drowsiness weighing heavily on him. Hopefully he still remembered where Ryoken's room was.

And now that Spectre knew about his situation, that was another helping hand. Maybe he should have Ryoken enlist the help of Yusaku and Kusanagi-san. This could be solved with computers and the like - that's how it had happened in the first place, after all - so why should he be relying just on Ryoken?

Takeru all but threw himself onto Ryoken's king-size bed and smushed his face into the pillows. That was it. He'd somehow contact Yusaku and Kusanagi-san and tell him about their situation. And then maybe he could get himself that ice cream he had promised himself earlier. Yeah, that sounded good. He'd get strawberry or that chocolately fudge flavor - ooh, or maybe he'd get cookie dough or just go traditional with a mochi flavor or how about...

He fell asleep, thoughts forgotten. Tomorrow's problems were for tomorrow's Takeru, after all.


End file.
